Special Korea, 22 Arab States Look to Enhanced Ties
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
About 200 high-profile figures from the political, business and cultural circles of 22 Arab states gathered in Seoul, Monday, to attend a conference to prepare for the landmark establishment of the Korea-Arab Society (KAS).
KAS aims to enhance public understanding of Islamic culture and foster human networks, as well as to explore joint business and investment opportunities in South Korea and the Middle East, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), which hosted the conference. The society is a non-profit organization that is to be officially launched on June 30.
Prime Minister Han Seung-soo expressed high hopes the society will play a pivotal role in promoting relations between the two sides to a great extent, ranging from economic cooperation to exchanges in the fields of culture, art, education and media.
``In recent years, the two sides have engaged in active exchanges and cooperation in various sectors through personnel exchanges, cultural festivals and so on,'' the prime minister said in his opening speech at the conference at the Lotte Hotel, central Seoul. ``South Korea hopes the two sides will develop stronger bilateral relations based on mutual trust.''
``Among other things, South Korea, the fifth largest oil importer in the world, hopes for more active cooperation with Arab nations on energy resources. In addition, we expect substantial progress on cooperation in the fields of construction, plant and information technology,'' he said.
Han also asked the Arab world to make more investments into South Korea, explaining the incumbent Lee Myung-bak government's ``business-friendly'' policy aimed at reducing corporate regulations.
Resource-poor South Korea is heavily dependent on oil imports and has been intensifying what it calls energy diplomacy, a flagship policy of the Lee administration putting emphasis on the economy.
In that context, the Arab world is an important region for Korea.
The 22 Arab member states of the society possess about 55 percent of the world's oil reserves and some 30 percent of liquefied natural gas reserves, according to a foreign ministry press release. They account for 71 percent of Seoul's crude oil imports and 48 percent of its natural gas imports, it said.
South Korea is the world's fifth biggest oil importer, with annual purchases reaching around 900 million barrels.
The nations also make up 12 percent of Seoul's total trade volume, ranking them fourth.
A total of 63 percent of all South Korean plant and construction projects are from the Middle East.
Reports said the Arab world is looking around the world for opportunities to invest $3 trillion in oil money.
The Arab world refers to 22 states in North Africa and the Middle East, which are home to 325 million people who speak Arabic and mostly practice Islam.
They are Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Comoros, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, Syria, the Palestinian Authority, Djibouti and Somalia.
Arabs boast a strong sense of shared community since they had been part of the Saracen Empire for a long time. Bonds were strengthened through the launch of the Arab League in 1945 and the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) in 1968.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir welcomed Seoul's calls for energy cooperation with the Arab-Muslim states.
``Sudan has abundant resources, but South Korea has great technical and human resources. Our cooperation remains at an incipient stage,'' he said in a speech through a Korean translator. ``We need more efforts to expand it.''
Sudan produces about 500,000 barrels of oil a day. The country's real growth rate averaged 7 percent over the past decade, due largely to Chinese and other Asian investments.
Among the dignitaries present at Monday's conference were President Ismail Omar Gulleh of Djibouti; Prince of Jordan Mired bin Raad bin Zeid Al-Hussein; and Princess of Kuwait Sheikha Hussah Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah.
Other Arab representatives included Said Dhoifir Bounou, speaker of parliament of the Comoros; Mohamed Saleh As-Sada, minister for energy and industrial affairs from Qatar; Riad Malki, foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority; Ahmed Ouyahia, former prime minister of Algeria; and deputy ministers from Iraq and Yemen.
Among other attendees were Kuwait's Secretary General of National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters Bader Sayed Al-Refai; Jordan's Director of Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies Hassan Abu-Nimah; and Saeb Nahas, chairman of the Nahas Enterprise Group from Syria.
Cultural, Business Forums
On the sidelines of the one-day meeting, two separate forums on cultural and business cooperation were held in the afternoon.
Arab counterparts have keen interest in cultural exchanges with South Korea amid high popularity of Korean pop culture, dubbed ``hallyu'' or ``Korean wave,'' in the Middle East, ministry officials said.
During the conference, participants adopted the statutes of KAS and discussed the composition of the board of directors, as well as exchanged views on ways to develop partnerships.
At least 10 members are to be named to the board of directors with equal representation from the two sides.
Lee Hee-beom, head of the Korea International Trade Association, was designated the inaugural chairman of the society, and former ambassador to Egypt Choi Seung-ho was named the secretary general, a ministry spokesman said.
Energy Diplomacy
Korea will be leading the board for the next four years to ensure smooth initial operations, he said, adding the participating governments and businesses will jointly fund KAS.
The group's main activities will include creating human networks with royal families and high-ranking officials from each state; arranging various cultural performances, exhibitions and academic forums; and offering education and training programs through personnel exchanges.
KAS will also focus on creating business opportunities through expositions, seminars and information sharing as part of efforts to support the energy diplomacy, said the spokesman.
``Human networks, particularly the relationship with Royal families of Arab states, are crucial for implementing business programs on energy with the Arab world,'' said MaYoung-sam, director-general of the ministry's Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau. ``In that context, I believe the Korea-Arab Society will provide good opportunities for South Korean firms to successfully make inroads into the Arab market.''
Currently, only France has that kind of society with Arab nations, said Ma.
Nearly 10 Korean companies, including SK, GS, S-oil and STX are to participate in the society, he added. The Seoul government, on its part, plans to provide annual support funds, staring with this year's 1.25 billion won ($1.2 million).
Many diplomats say public understanding of the Arab world here has failed to keep abreast of growing economic relations between the two sides. Some Koreans even bear prejudice against the Arab world amid a cascade of reports on conflicts and terrorist attacks.
``The launch of the Korea-Arab Society is both a move toward the formation of a new partnership between Korea and the Middle East, as well as a move to instill a proper awareness of the region in our society,'' Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said in a recent contributing article to a local daily.
``Now Korea and the Arab world have embarked on a long journey on the 21st Century Silk Road to meet an old friend. Through this opportunity, it is our hope that new interest will take off in Korea in getting to know the Arab world properly.''
